Wednesday, November 28, 2001
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Wednesday, November 28, 2001 |
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Hecht chairs gas study committee
Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor has appointed state Sen. Greg Hecht as chairman of the Senate Natural Gas Study Committee. Created in the 2001 session of the state Legislature through a bill authored by Hecht, the committee will study the pricing, supply, demand and system of government oversight regarding the provision of natural gas. Hecht represents parts of Fayette, Clayton, Douglas and south Fulton counties, and is running for a new U.S. Congress seat that also includes a small portion of Fayette. Hearings of the study committee began Friday in Gwinnett County, with future hearings planned in Clayton and Rockdale counties. "We have an important issue to address," said Taylor. "The needs of our citizens to gain affordable energy, especially during the upcoming winter months, is paramount. Senator Hecht led our efforts in the Senate last year to provide relief on late natural gas bills, which created high bills from several months of service being combined in one bill. He did an outstanding job of securing several measures to protect consumers with the legislation we passed last year. He will be a strong chairman of the Natural Gas Study Committee." Senate Bill 217, authored by Hecht, requires that bills be received within 30 days of the monthly meter reading, that bills contain universal information including the price per therm, the amount of gas consumed, the service delivery fee and any hidden charges broken down specifically on the bill. Also, the bill required marketers to allow consumers to switch from one marketer to another at no cost at least one time within a 12-month period. "We made a good first step with Senate Bill 217 last year," said Hecht, "but we have a lot of work to do still. We have to concentrate on fending ways to ensure that Georgia consumers maintain the ability to receive lower prices for natural gas, which may be occurring in the wholesale market. "Unfortunately," he said, "bad debt has built up in the market, costing all of us higher prices. We need to find a mechanism of relief." Study committee hearings are open to the public, and public comment will be accepted.
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